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Arsenal passes latest test to go 5 points clear at top of Premier League

Arsenal passed the latest test of its Premier League title credentials with a crucial 2-1 win against Chelsea on Sunday, and Manchester United climbed up to third by beating Crystal Palace 2-1 to boost its pursuit of a return to the Champions League.

Jurrien Timber’s second-half goal saw Arsenal re-establish a five-point lead over second-place Manchester City after Pep Guardiola’s team kept the pressure on at the top by beating Leeds on Saturday.

Victory against Chelsea saw Arsenal overcome another of its major rivals and move a step closer to a first league title since 2004. It leaves the visit to City next month as potentially the last major hurdle for Mikel Arteta’s team, which has no other games against the rest of the current top seven in the standings.

“We have the feeling that we have to win and win and win. You win so many games, but it is not enough to open the gap. That is the level of this league,” Arteta said.

Benjamin Sesko’s seventh goal in eight games sealed victory for United against Palace and moved it above Aston Villa in third on goal difference.

At the other end of the standings, Tottenham’s winless run extended to 10 games after a 2-1 loss at Fulham — leaving it mired in a fight to avoid relegation. Nottingham Forest also failed to pull further away from the drop zone after a 2-1 loss at Brighton.

Arsenal had to respond after City closed the gap to two points a day earlier. And if Arsenal goes on to claim the title, it may well look back on this win as a decisive moment.

Even when down to 10 men, after Pedro Neto was sent off in the second half, Chelsea pushed deep into added time for an equalizer.

David Raya produced a stunning save to push Alejandro Garnacho’s goalbound cross away as the seconds ran down at the Emirates. And the home fans breathed a sigh of relief when Liam Delap’s goal was ruled out for offside in the dying moments.

In the end, Arsenal’s threat from set pieces proved the difference again. William Saliba put the home team in front, converting from a corner after 21 minutes.

And after Piero Hincapie’s own-goal got Chelsea back into the game in first-half added time, Timber headed in from another corner in the 66th.

With 16 goals from corners this season, Arsenal has tied the record for a Premier League season, according to stats provider Opta.

“It feels like a big result,” United captain Bruno Fernandes said after his team beat Palace.

United’s latest win boosted its push for a return to the Champions League and further strengthened Michael Carrick’s credentials to be given the coach’s job on a long-term basis.

He remains unbeaten since being given a contract to the end of the season in January, with a record of six wins in seven games. His cause may also have been helped after overcoming a Palace team coached by Oliver Glasner, who was one of the early favorites to get the job when United fired Ruben Amorim at the start of the year.

Over two spells as United coach, Carrick has picked up 23 points from nine games. Opta said it was the joint highest points total for a manager after his first nine games in the league’s history — equaling Ange Postecoglou’s start at Tottenham.

“This place means a lot to me so to have the sort of positivity and everyone enjoying going to the games and watching it and for me to have an influence on that, I’m not going to lie, it feels good,” Carrick said. (JapanToday)

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Eze hurts Tottenham again to reignite Arsenal’s title hopes and Liverpool grabs late winner

Eberechi Eze reignited Arsenal’s title ambitions in the Premier League by being the scourge of Tottenham once again.

Three months after scoring a hat trick against Spurs, the England midfielder netted two more goals against Arsenal’s fiercest rival in a 4-1 away win on Sunday. Viktor Gyokeres also scored twice for the leaders.

Eze came close to joining Tottenham in the summer, only for Arsenal — his boyhood club — to swoop in and sign him instead for a reported 60 million pounds ($80 million). Spurs are suffering even more now — his only goals since the start of November have come against them.

Arsenal rebounded after two straight draws that have let second-place Manchester City back in the title conversation.

The Gunners regained their five-point lead but City has a game in hand and still has to host Mikel Arteta’s team in the league in mid-April. They also meet in the English League Cup final on March 22.

It proved to be a tough start to life as Tottenham manager for Igor Tudor, who has made a habit of picking up good results early in his tenures at previous clubs.

Not this time, though. Tottenham did equalize two minutes after conceding the opener to Eze when Randal Kolo Muani dispossessed Declan Rice and drilled home a finish for 1-1 in the 34th.

Gyokeres made it 2-1 with a shot from the edge of the area in the 47th and Eze stretched the lead in the 61st with a rebound after Bukayo Saka’s shot was saved. Gyokeres scored again in stoppage time.

Arsenal has 10 league games remaining in its bid for a first top-flight title since 2004.

Alexis Mac Allister just didn’t give up.

After having an 89th-minute goal disallowed following a VAR check, the Argentina midfielder scored again in the seventh minute of stoppage time — and this time it survived a video review — to earn Liverpool a 1-0 victory at Nottingham Forest.

The dramatic end at the City Ground centered completely on Mac Allister, who thought he’d scored without knowing anything about it after turning his back on a clearance by Nottingham Forest defender Ola Aina.

The ball rebounded off Mac Allister and into the net, but the VAR spotted it had struck his arm and the goal was scrubbed out.

However, he was on hand off virtually the last kick of the game when Virgil van Dijk’s header was spilled by Forest goalkeeper Stefan Ortega. Barely six meters out, Mac Allister could hardly miss as he sidefooted the ball into the net.

There was a VAR check to see if Van Dijk was offside but the goal was given.

Liverpool stayed in sixth place but was tied on points with fourth-place Chelsea and fifth-place Manchester United, whose game in hand is at Everton on Monday.

With doubts swirling around the future of Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner, his team dug out a 1-0 win over last-place Wolverhampton thanks to a last-minute goal.

Evann Guessand prodded home a far-post finish after coming on as a substitute.

Ahead of the game, Glasner, who led Palace to FA Cup glory last season, was non-committal about whether he would be staying at the club until the end of the season. He has already said he’ll be leaving in the summer.

The Austrian coach also urged Palace’s supporter base to “stay humble” and fans made their feelings about those comments known on Sunday, raising a banner that read, “Opportunities missed – board inept. Fans disrespected – Glasner finished.”

Wolves stayed 17 points off safety.

It wasn’t long ago that Sunderland was the only Premier League team with an unbeaten home record.

Now, the Black Cats have lost two straight at the Stadium of Light.

Sunderland was defeated 3-1 by Fulham, which had two goals from Mexico striker Raul Jimenez — one of which was from the penalty spot.

Ten days ago, Sunderland lost 1-0 to Liverpool for its first home defeat of the season.

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Tottenham roars back to draw with Man City and do Arsenal a favor in Premier League title race

Tottenham did fierce rival Arsenal a huge favor in the Premier League title race on Sunday.

Dominik Solanke scored a second-half double — including one from an outrageous scorpion kick — as Spurs came from two goals down to salvage a 2-2 draw with second-place Manchester City, leaving Arsenal with a six-point lead with 14 games left.

It was almost the perfect day for the leaders, with Aston Villa — the other title contender — losing 1-0 at home to 10-man Brentford.

Villa stayed seven points adrift of Arsenal and was in danger of being reeled in by fourth-place Manchester United, which scored a stoppage-time winner through Benjamin Sesko to beat Fulham 3-2 for a third straight league win under new manager Michael Carrick.

Having already overseen victories over City and Arsenal in his short tenure, Carrick appears to have the magic touch at revitalized United.

The same cannot be said of Pep Guardiola at the moment.

This was a huge wasted opportunity for Guardiola’s City, which was up against a heavily depleted Tottenham team and was cruising 2-0 ahead at halftime thanks to goals by Rayan Cherki and Antoine Semenyo. At times, it was almost too easy for City in front of an apathetic home crowd at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

City then collapsed as a revitalized Tottenham fought back. Solanke bundled in Spurs’ first goal — appearing to kick the back of Marc Guehi’s leg, resulting in the ball dribbling over the line — and then grabbed the equalizer with a deft, flying back-flick that looped over City goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma and into the corner.

“The first half was difficult — we couldn’t get near them at times,” Solanke said. “The second half was a different story. In the second half, we were great and grew with confidence and belief.”

In the last five games, City has looked vulnerable in losing twice — to United and tiny Bodo/Glimt in the Champions League — and now spluttering against an injury-hit Tottenham.

“It is a setback but we are still there,” Guardiola said. “There are 14 games to go and a lot of points. We will see.”

Arsenal, a 4-0 winner at Leeds on Saturday, might not have a better chance to end its league title drought stretching back to 2004.

Villa played for more than half the match with an extra man after Brentford winger Kevin Schade’s straight red card for kicking out at Matty Cash in the 42nd minute after they had challenged for the ball.

In the first minute of first-half stoppage time, Dango Ouattara escaped down the right and scored at the second attempt for what proved to be only goal as Brentford weathered a second-half onslaught.

United squandered a two-goal lead earned by goals from Casemiro and Matheus Cunha, with Raul Jimenez — via a penalty — and Kevin scoring to bring Fulham briefly level at Old Trafford.

There was still time for Bruno Fernandes to send over a cross that was controlled by Sesko before he swiveled to curl home a finish in front of the Stretford End.

“It’s the best feeling, I have to say,” Carrick said about the kind of late winners United scored so often under his old manager, Alex Ferguson. “People leave here with more than just, ‘United won today.’ It’s layers on top of that, the emotion and the feeling, and it’s why we all love it so much.”

The match took place after a protest by around 500-600 United fans unhappy at the ownership of the 20-time champions, but the team is finally in a decent league position — fourth place — in its bid to return to the Champions League.

United is five points behind Villa with 14 rounds remaining.

Also Sunday, Crystal Palace — without star striker Jean-Philippe Mateta ahead of his possible move to AC Milan — drew 1-1 at 10-man Nottingham Forest, which had Neco Williams sent off in the 45th minute for a handball on the line. (JapanToday)

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Spurs down Palace; Leeds and Sunderland draw

Tottenham ground out a much-needed three points for the under-fire Thomas Frank with a 1-0 win at Crystal Palace, while high-flying Sunderland were held 1-1 by Leeds on Sunday.

Archie Gray was Spurs’ unlikely match winner at Selhurst Park with his first senior goal as Frank’s men won for just the second time in nine league games.

Richarlison had two goals disallowed for offside but Gray’s header was enough for Tottenham against a Palace side running out of steam after a gruelling schedule.

“In the end we got over the line,” said Frank. “The team showed great resilience today and I think the desire beat the details in the game.”

The Eagles are winless in five games as they have hit the wall from trying to stretch their limited resources across three competitions.

Oliver Glasner described his side’s set-piece defending in a 4-1 defeat to Leeds last weekend as “embarrassing” and it was a dead ball that cost them once more against a Spurs team badly lacking in creativity.

An overdue victory will temporarily ease the scrutiny on Frank, but another performance devoid of flair going forward will do little to quieten his doubters in the Tottenham support.

The visitors did not have a shot on target from open play before half-time but were only denied by a VAR review for offside when Richarlison thought he had opened the scoring.

Instead the source of the only goal was an unexpected one as Gray headed in Richarlison’s flick from a corner for his first goal in 112 appearances for Tottenham and Leeds.

Palace dominated territory and possession after the break but lacked the class needed in front of goal to make Spurs pay.

Justin Devenny blazed high over the bar from close range before Maxence Lacroix headed wide.

Palace were handed another reprieve when Richarlison turned in Mohammed Kudus’ cross only for VAR to again intervene.

But Tottenham held out to climb to 11th, just one point behind Palace in ninth.

Earlier, Dominic Calvert-Lewin scored for a sixth consecutive Premier League game as Leeds denied Sunderland a place in the top five with a draw at the Stadium of Light.

Simon Adingra fired the Black Cats into a half-time lead, but the in-form Calvert-Lewin leveled early in the second period to pull Leeds further clear of the relegation zone.

Sunderland are still yet to lose at home on their return to the top flight but have been severely depleted by the departure of six players to the Africa Cup of Nations.

Sunderland are still yet to lose at home on their return to the top flight but have been severely depleted by the departure of six players to the Africa Cup of Nations.

Adingra was one of the Ivory Coast’s key men in winning the AFCON on home soil last year, but he was not selected this time.

Sunderland were grateful for that decision as the former Brighton winger curled in his first goal for the club from Granit Xhaka’s fine through ball on 28 minutes. (JapanToday)

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Spurs captain Romero facing increased ban after Liverpool red card

Cristian Romero could be hit with an extended suspension after he was charged by England’s ruling Football Association with failing to leave the field and acting in an “aggressive” manner when he was sent off against Liverpool last Saturday.

The Tottenham Hotspur captain received a second yellow card for kicking out at Liverpool defender Ibrahima Konate before being ordered off the field by referee John Brooks during a 2-1 defeat.

Romero’s dismissal left Spurs down to nine men as Xavi Simons had already been shown a red card for serious foul play in the first half.

Argentina centre-back Romero had first been booked for dissent after complaining he had been pushed by Hugo Ekitike when the forward scored Liverpool’s second goal.

Romero’s red card means he will serve a one-match ban, missing Sunday’s match away to London rivals Crystal Palace.

But he now faces additional punishment, and a longer ban if found guilty. He has until January 2 to respond to Wednesday’s charge.

Spurs travel to Brentford on New Year’s Day before hosting Sunderland on January 4 and visiting Bournemouth three days later.

“It’s alleged that he (Romero) acted in an improper manner by failing to promptly leave the field of play and/or behaving in a confrontational and/or aggressive manner towards the match referee after being sent off in the 93rd minute,” said an FA statement.

Romero went into the game on seven bookings in the Premier League this season and Tottenham head coach Thomas Frank accused Brooks of failing in his duties by sending the defender off the field.

“There is a massive mistake by John on the pitch,” said Frank.

“Two hands on the back by Ekitike. I don’t understand how he didn’t see it. OK, luckily we have VAR so they will bail you out when you need it, which they didn’t. That was the second mistake.”

The Danish boss added: “I think if you go back to that (second Liverpool goal) and the referee did his job, then it would not have been a first yellow (for Romero). Is that fair to say?

“I have a player that is extremely passionate, and if you have a passionate player then you need to go to the line sometimes.”

Defeat left Spurs a lowly 14th in the table and added to the growing pressure on Frank, who took charge after Ange Postecoglou was sacked in June. (JapanToday)

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Liverpool’s Alexander Isak sidelined for two months after “reckless” tackle, Slot says

Liverpool striker Alexander Isak will be laid up for two months with a broken ankle and fibula from a tackle that coach Arne Slot described as reckless on Tuesday.

Isak had surgery on Monday, two days after he was injured in the act of scoring the opening goal of a 2-1 win over Tottenham in the Premier League.

“It’s going to be a long injury, for a couple of months,” Slot said. “It’s a big disappointment for him and, as a result, for us.

“This was, for me, a reckless challenge. I’ve said a lot about the tackle of Xavi Simons (who was sent off for dragging his studs down the calf of Virgil van Dijk in the same game) which for me was completely unintentional.

“I don’t think you will ever get an injury out of a tackle like that. But the tackle of (Micky) van de Ven (on Isak), if you make a tackle like that 10 times, 10 times there is a serious chance the player gets a serious injury.”

Van de Ven slid into Isak and trapped his shooting foot just after he’d shot.

TV analyst and Liverpool great Jamie Carragher defended Van de Ven.

“There’s a lot been made about a lot of the challenges in the game from Tottenham players and a lot of them weren’t clever,” Carragher told Sky Sports on Monday.

“I’ve put myself in Van de Ven’s position and that’s a challenge I’d probably make. He’s trying to block it, it’s just the follow through. I don’t know where else anyone thinks his foot’s going to go. He has to make that challenge. You can’t let the striker just get a shot away there in that situation.

“It’s just really bad luck for Isak. It’s probably one of the first glimpses we’ve seen of his real quality in a Liverpool shirt.”

Slot was doubly disappointed for Isak because the Sweden international was just getting up to speed.

The $170 million British record signing didn’t have a preseason because of his dispute with Newcastle then his fitness was set back by a groin injury in October.

Liverpool was patiently building him up and he’d started five of the last nine games but Slot, who expects Isak back before the end of the season, doesn’t believe he’ll be as sharp as he was last season for Newcastle.

“It’s been a really challenging and difficult period for him. Usually when you join a new club — he was very excited as well — you want to show all the qualities you have but that was simply impossible,” Slot said.

“Maybe no one understands but if you haven’t trained on a serious level for three or four months with the team and you are playing in this league you have to be on top of your game to impact a game of football.

“That took months because there was no preseason, just games, games, games and hardly any time to train. We all knew it would take him time and that’s why he is so unlucky he is now injured because we all saw with his goal against West Ham and with this goal (against Tottenham) he gets closer and closer to the player he was last season at Newcastle.” (JapanToday)

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Haaland sends Man City to top; Liverpool beats nine-man Spurs

Erling Haaland fired Manchester City to the top of the Premier League by beating West Ham 3-0, while Liverpool continued their upturn with a 2-1 win at nine-man Tottenham on Saturday.

Arsenal can retake top spot for Christmas when they visit Everton later, but City ramped up the pressure on the Gunners with a seventh consecutive win in all competitions.

The Hammers feared a rout when Haaland smashed home after just five minutes.

Haaland turned provider for City’s second just before half-time as Tijjani Reijnders scored his first goal at the Etihad.

And he netted his 38th goal of the season already for club and country when the ball broke his way 21 minutes from time to move City one point ahead of Arsenal.

Yet, Pep Guardiola was still far from satisfied as he demanded improvements if City are to win a seventh Premier League title under his tenure.

“I want to be honest. I said to the players, ‘Merry Christmas everyone but it will not be enough if we don’t improve’.”

Liverpool extended their unbeaten run to six games after they survived a nervy finale to inflict a miserable Christmas on Spurs boss Thomas Frank.

Xavi Simons’ dangerous lunge on Dutch international team-mate Virgil van Dijk on 33 minutes left the home side with a mountain to climb.

Despite the absence of Mohamed Salah at the Africa Cup of Nations, Alexander Isak again started on the bench.

Arne Slot introduced the most expensive Premier League player of all time at the break.

The Swede netted just his third goal since joining Liverpool for £125 million in September but suffered another injury setback in the process and had to be replaced.

Hugo Ekitike headed in his fifth goal in three league games to double Liverpool’s lead.

But Slot’s men still wobbled in the closing stages once Richarlison pulled a goal back.

A fifth defeat in nine home league games this season intensified the pressure on Frank and the Dane was not helped by his captain Cristian Romero, who got himself needlessly sent off in stoppage time.

Liverpool climb up to fifth, while Spurs are rooted down in 13th.

Chelsea remain above the Reds in fourth on goal difference as a second-half fightback rescued manager Enzo Maresca from more speculation over his future.

The Italian claimed after last weekend’s win over Everton that he and his players had not received enough support during a difficult run of results.

Maresca was then linked with being Guardiola’s successor at City in recent days.

Chelsea have won just once in their last five league games to see ambitions of a title challenge wilt.

But it could have been even worse for Maresca as Nick Woltemade’s double put Newcastle 2-0 up in a dominant first half from the Magpies.

A brilliant Reece James free-kick brought the Blues back into the game before Joao Pedro pounced on an error from Malick Thiaw to equalise.

Newcastle felt aggrieved as two late appeals for penalties and for James to be sent off were dismissed to leave Eddie Howe’s men languishing in 11th.

Wolves remain without a league win this season and on course to enter the record books as the worst side in Premier League history.

Keane Lewis-Potter scored both goals as Brentford won 2-0 at Molineux to move 10 points clear of the relegation zone.

Burnley ended their seven-game losing streak as Armando Broja’s 90th-minute goal snatched a 1-1 draw at Bournemouth.

Sunderland edged up to sixth after a 0-0 draw at Brighton. (JapanToday)

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Man City and Aston Villa win to stay in touch with Premier League leader Arsenal

Manchester City and Aston Villa kept the pressure on Premier League leader Arsenal with wins on Sunday.

Nottingham Forest pulled further away from the relegation zone with a 3-0 victory against Tottenham and Sunderland beat Newcastle 1-0 in the Tyne-Wear derby after an own-goal from Nick Woltemade.

Arsenal had extended its lead at the top of the standings to five points with a 2-1 win against Wolves on Saturday. But a day later its closest rivals both responded with victories – second-place City winning 3-0 at Crystal Palace and Villa, in third, twice coming back to beat West Ham 3-2 at the London Stadium.

City is two points behind Arsenal and Villa is a point further back.

Beaten by Palace in the FA Cup final last season, City exacted some revenge to take all three points at Selhurst Park.

“They are so strong. Every time we play against them it’s so difficult,” City manager Pep Guardiola said. “Still, we are not top, but we are learning and after what happened we will be closer in the future.”

Erling Haaland scored his 101st Premier League goal to put City in front late in the first half and he got his second of the match with an 89th-minute penalty. The Norwegian has 36 goals in 27 appearances for club and country in another remarkable scoring season. He is the league’s leading scorer with 17 goals.

Phil Foden got City’s other goal in between Haaland’s double.

Morgan Rogers scored twice in the second half to extend Aston Villa’s winning run to nine-straight games in all competitions and keep Unai Emery’s team on the heels of Arsenal and City.

Villa has lost just one of its last 13 games in the league and won 10 of its last 11, but twice had to come from behind at relegation fighting West Ham.

“We feel unstoppable, but we are making it difficult for ourselves,” Rogers said. “The battle and resilience we have means we know we can get back into it against a good team.

“We want to keep this going, it’s about being confident and I’m feeling good.”

Mateus Fernandes scored the fastest goal in England’s top flight this season when putting the home team 1-0 up after just 29 seconds. But Konstantinos Mavropanos’ own-goal leveled the game eight minutes later.

Jarrod Bowen then gave West Ham the lead at halftime with his second goal in as many games in the 24th.

Rogers leveled the game again five minutes after the break and struck the winner in the 79th.

The pressure is mounting on Tottenham coach Thomas Frank, who was left infuriated after a latest loss.

Spurs have won just one of their last seven games in the league and face defending champion Liverpool at home next week. (JapanToday)

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EPL: Arsenal beat Tottenham 4–1 as Eze scores hat-trick in North London derby

Arsenal moved six points clear at the top of the Premier League after a 4–1 win over Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday, with new signing Eberechi Eze scoring a brilliant hat-trick at the Emirates Stadium.

Eze, who joined Arsenal from Crystal Palace in the summer, was the star of the derby. Leandro Trossard opened the scoring in the first half after controlling a pass and finishing into the far corner. Minutes later, Eze made it 2–0 with a powerful right-footed shot from the edge of the box.

Just 35 seconds into the second half, Eze struck again, placing another low shot into the bottom corner to give Arsenal full control.

Tottenham pulled one back when Richarlison spotted goalkeeper David Raya off his line and scored from long range. It was Spurs’ first shot of the match.

Arsenal later restored their three-goal lead as Eze completed his hat-trick with another composed finish, becoming the first player to score a hat-trick in this derby in nearly 50 years.

The win gives Arsenal 29 points from 12 matches. They have now won nine games this season and are level with Manchester City on the most goals scored (24). Tottenham sit ninth with 18 points after suffering their fourth defeat of the campaign.

Arsenal will face Bayern Munich next in the Champions League on Wednesday before travelling to Chelsea in the Premier League next weekend. (Punch)

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Donald Trump pardons UK billionaire and former Tottenham owner Joe Lewis

Joe Lewis, the British billionaire and former owner of Tottenham Hotspur FC, has been pardoned by Donald Trump over a 2024 conviction for his part in a “brazen” insider trading scheme.

Lewis, 88, was fined $5m (£3.8m) and given three years probation by a New York judge last year but was spared jail time after pleading guilty to involvement in a plan that prosecutors said was designed to enrich his friends, lovers and employees.

Lawyers for the east London-born investor initially accused prosecutors of making an “egregious” mistake by charging him with multiple counts of securities fraud and conspiracy.

But Lewis, who also owns the largest stake in one of the UK’s biggest operators of pubs, bars and restaurants, Mitchells & Butlers, later changed his plea to guilty after prosecutors agreed to a non-custodial sentence.

Lewis retained his right to change his plea again if a custodial sentence were imposed.

In a statement to the court at his sentencing last year, he said: “I made a terrible mistake. I broke the law. I am ashamed, sorry, and I hold myself accountable.”

The judge, Jessica Clarke, said Lewis’s circumstances did not warrant incarceration and imposed a $44m fine on his company, Broad Bay, on top of his $5m personal fine and probation.

But on Thursday, the Daily Telegraph was first to report that Trump planned to pardon Lewis entirely. The Guardian understands that the fine will not be repaid to Lewis or his company.

The White House later confirmed the pardon and said Lewis requested it so that he could receive medical treatment and visit his grandchildren and great-grandchildren in the US, the Associated Press reported.

Lewis said: “I am pleased all of this is now behind me, and I can enjoy retirement and watch as my family and extended family continue to build our businesses based on the quality and pursuit of excellence that has become our trademark.”

A source close to the family said: “Joe and the Lewis family are extremely grateful for this pardon and would like to thank President Trump for taking this action.

“Over his long business career, Joe has been a visionary, creating businesses across the world, which multiple generations of his family are now taking forward. There is so much more to the Joe Lewis story than this one event.”

Lewis already transferred his majority ownership interest in Tottenham to his family via a trust in 2022, the year before he was charged.

The north London football club is now overseen by Lewis’s daughter Vivienne, his son Charles, and Vivienne’s son-in-law Nick Beucher.

Details of the insider trading scheme were documented in a 29-page dossier published by the US attorney for the southern district of New York in 2023.

Prosecutors accused Lewis of passing on share tips based on inside information to his employees, including his private jet pilot and his then 33-year-old girlfriend, Carolyn Carter, to allow them to make a profit from stock trading. (Guardian)